The Twelve Trials of Freedom
by SpiritsoftheSoul
Summary: Set in far future, year 3032. World War 3 happened, women versus men. The women had won. Now, all men served the women. But every 3 years, there was a chance for freedom. 12 trials. So when Percy Jackson takes the Trials, he meets the world princess, Annabeth. They have a forbidden romance, but will it last with Percy in the Trials? CONTINUED FROM ORIGINAL
1. Prologue

**Hey demigods! This is SoulHorse here! So, most of you guys know that this story was originally uploaded on my account, but April and I agreed that we should move it to our collab account. Which is this one. Well, we kinda agreed. Something along those lines. I pitched the idea, but April kinda not really gave me a clear answer? Oh well. So, this part is the prologue and it's written by me…yeah.**

 **This also has some other characters from other fandoms, but they only make cameos; this story is purely PJO. Also, both April and I and two of our friends came up with this idea…a year or so ago…while we were supposed to be doing work…**

 **Disclaimer: April nor I own PJO or Elsword. Or Kane Chronicles. Or whatever fandom we choose to use.**

 _Far off distant future: January 1, 3025._

A young boy, 10 years old, walked around, carrying an armful of dirty laundry on the island of Cyprus, Greece. He was a worker in the palace of Queen Aphrodite and her nine year old daughter, Piper McLean. Aphrodite's husband, Tristan McLean, lived in the palace, but had a lower ranking than Aphrodite and Piper.

Women after all, ruled the world ever since April 24, 3000. It had been 25 years ever since the start of World War 3. Girls around the world united to stop the men from becoming bosses of them. The women had won. And so began the beginning of the exile. Every place had its own ruler. On Cyprus, the ruler was Aphrodite. Piper was the heir to the throne.

But every three years, boys fifteen and above would represent their home/working place in a raffle. They would take a series of tests to prove their worth. If they passed the test, they would move on to the hardest of the hardest: the legendary 12 trials of Hercules. There was only one winner. The winner would get eternal freedom and a chance at a new life. He could also free 13 of his friends. It was a life any man wanted these days.

Everyone (well, mostly the men) was grateful for the highest deceased royal queen: Queen Minerva. She had made that up several years ago, so men could have a better chance to a better life. Before, they had to offer up the finest gifts they had. No man could do that, since no man was paid. Queen Minerva was dead, but her bloodline lived on. Queen Minerva's bloodline was the highest in the world. She and her bloodline was literally the presidents of the world. The current grand ruler was Queen Athena.

The young boy sighed as he walked. He would leave for the city of Thebes in two days. He once had friends and now wondered where they were. Once, they had been together in…what? Russia? It was so long ago, when they were 8.

There was an American blond haired, blue eyed boy named Jason, an chubby Asian boy with short black hair and brown eyes named Frank, a Latino curly brown haired mischievous boy who called himself Leo, a quiet 6 year old Italian boy with pale skin named Nico, and so many more. They had all been together, ranging from ages 6 to 9. They were in Russia, serving a young queen named Eve Code **.**

Queen Eve Code was older than them, 10 years old and was queen of Russia. A girl with amber eyes, short silver hair, and pale skin, she was a very strict ruler, also being a somewhat war-like girl. After a couple of months, she had traded Jason to the young queen Reyna Ramirez-Arellano of Rome. Frank had gone next, all the way to 13 year old Queen Sadie Kane of Egypt, who lived with her boyfriend and brother. Leo had been traded after Frank, to the princess of Japan, Ara Haan. The Italian boy was traded all the way to Queen Katie Gardner of Venice. Then, it was only him. He had gone to Paris, where he worked for Queen Arophodite Tanaka and her daughter, nine year old Drew Tanaka. He went so many places and now was in Cyprus, working for Aphrodite. The boy sighed again.

A screaming male voice yelled, "Laundry boy! Get those clothes down here now! Or else the Queen will have us punished!"

The boy ran down the halls and dashed into the laundry room.

The other laundry boy grumbled, "You're late. Now the Queen won't give us food. And I'm starved. I'm glad I don't work for Queen Reyna or Queen Eve. We would've gotten a whipping. Those queens are war-like."

The 10 year old boy shivered. When he worked for Queen Eve, every time they were late with food, or didn't do their job, she would have the noblewomen beat them. The treatment there was horrible. At least he was in Cyprus.

That night, the tired, hungry boy slept in his quarters of the airy broken down hut. He had gathered enough wood to make one so he wouldn't have to sleep in the boys' quarters, where everyone piled on each other. There was one toilet and one sink. That was it. After seeing the pathetic sight of the boys clamoring for the one toilet and sink, he decided to get his own place. He slept peacefully, dreaming about the day when he would turn 17. His name was Percy Jackson, and in 7 years, he would take his chance at the tasks for freedom.

 **Prologue finished! How'd you like? Flames are…not accepted but if you really want to…Flame…if you dare. Also, this chapter and next was written when I was...an amateur I guess? Don't judge.**

 **Anyways, there's your prologue! RRFF! AND VOTE ON SOULHORSE'S POLL!**

 **Ages of Characters in future chapters**

 **Percy- 17**

 **Piper- 16**

 **Jason-16**

 **Annabeth- 17**

 **Leo- 16**

 **Nico-15**

 **Frank-17**

 **Hazel-16**

 **Thanks for reading! Yours in demigoddishness, SoulHorse**


	2. I'm A Nobody Who Ran Into The Princess

**SoulHorse: Hello demigods! Welcome to another chapter of Twelve Trials of Freedom! This chapter was written by one of our good friends, who told us to put her on here as The Walking Talking Library, because she reads** **a lot.** **I added some stuff too…so yeah. She also wrote the disclaimer below…**

 **Disclaimer:**

 **I don't freaking own PJO or HoO or pretty much anything in this chapter. SoulHorse and I only own the plot and OCs. Plus if I owned PJO or HoO, I wouldn't make Caleo so mushy. It was like Rick Riordan watched gushy, romantic movies while he wrote BoO. Seriously.**

 **And that's TWTL's sense of humor/sarcasm for you! Oh yeah, you know how it says that every 3 years, men would get a chance at freedom? We kinda messed up on details, so please ignore that, if you actually did the math. Now, on with the story!**

 _Seven years later…_

 _April 23, 3032_

Third person's POV

Seventeen year old Percy Jackson woke up to the icy cold water of the Aegean Sea. He blinked and saw the other laundry boy, George What's-his-last-name, standing above him with a steel gray bucket, which was now, empty of water. That was brutal. Just…brutal.

The eighteen year old boy holding the empty bucket scowled at him. "Get up. You're late."

Percy groaned and forced himself to get up from the woodpile bunk he had made himself. After leaving Cyprus, he had traveled to Thebes. Percy stayed for 7 months, and then had to depart for Crete, where he had been ever since. Percy got up and put on his ragged clothes. It was going to be another horrible day. He sluggishly moved his tired, aching body around the palace of Queen Marie Levesque and her daughter Hazel. As Percy collected the laundry, he thought of the next day, April 24. His chance at freedom.

As Percy worked at the laundry collecting, his eardrums almost exploded. It was the fanfare and announcer dude, who announced important stuff. What was his name? Ollie? No wait, that was the monkey. Obis? Nope, the elephant. Joe? Stable boy. Bob? The dude from Bob the Builder? Nah. No wait, it was-

"ORION! SHUT THE F*** UP!" screamed George.

Orion didn't seem to hear.

He announced, "The princess of the high royal family, heir to the throne, Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, princess of America, Greece, Rome, and all the world, is arriving in 10 minutes!"

The servants went into frenzy. No one expected the heir to the throne, Annabeth Chase, coming to the island of Crete! Percy was, well, astonished. Why would the next ruler of the world come to the little island of Crete? While Percy was thinking, George grabbed Percy and hauled him to the servant headquarters.

Percy complained, "What in all gods of Olympus was that for?"

George didn't listen. Instead, he tossed him a black and white butler outfit.

"Get dressed. We have to look nice for Princess Annabeth. Head's orders." George ordered.

Percy groaned as he slid into the spotless butler suit. After dressing, he turned and ran down the hallways, running faster than a speeding bullet. He grabbed all the laundry in the palace in less than 10 minutes and took 5 minutes speeding down the halls to the laundry room. She dumped all the laundry down to the washing boy, who threw it in the washing machine.

As Percy ran down to his rooms, he heard the trumpets, the fanfare, the announcing, and all that stuff, blast from the entrance to the palace. _Crap_ , Percy thought. _She's here._ He ran down the hallways, and slammed into someone.

"Hey! Watch it!" someone yelped

Percy blinked. He looked at the face in front of him. Percy expected one of the servants, but instead, he saw the face of a curly blonde haired, gray eyed girl. She wore a black and white gown, with a white hat and apron and a small patch on the arm. These clothes were unlike Queen Marie's maid clothes. Weird. But Percy didn't exactly notice and didn't really care.

Percy said, "Sorry. I really am. I gotta run. Bye!"

He took off down the halls, leaving the blonde haired, gray eyed girl in the hallway, with a shocked look on her face.

Percy took off down the halls and headed toward the grand front entrance, where he met with George.

"Did I miss her?" Percy questioned, as a lot of people were leaving the halls.

George rolled his eyes.

"No stupid. Didn't you hear? The princess has gone missing after she arrived in the palace's front doorstep. Everyone's searching."

Percy demanded, "How'd she get away? Isn't the princess always guarded by guards and stuff?"

George replied, "Apparently, she's smart. Princess Annabeth somehow managed to drug her guards' wine sacks, the one they carry in their pockets and drink out of, with a 10 minute sleeping potion, along with shoving a piece of a sleeping apple into the footman's mouth, who was in the back of the carriage, somehow grabbed spare servant clothes from her palace, and jumped off the carriage, with the driver thinking she was still inside. Now, everyone's looking for a girl with curly blonde hair, the royal family's gray eyes, and a black and white maid gown with a patch of an owl and olive branch on the right arm sleeve."

Percy's eyes widened as he recalled he girl he ran into a couple minutes ago. She wore black and white. She had a patch on her right arm sleeve. She had curly blonde hair. And she had the royal family's trademark gray eyes. The girl he had run into was none other than Princess Annabeth Chase, heir to the highest throne in the world.

 **SoulHorse: This is the end of TWTL's chapter, but I was feeling nice and added a few more lines...**

Percy turned to George with wide eyes.

"Wait, gray eyes, blonde curly hair, black and white clothes, and a patch on the right arm?" Percy questioned.

"Duh. That's what I just said." George said, rolling his eyes.

"Then…I think I just saw th-th-the…"

"The what?" George pressed.

"The princess."

 **SoulHorse: And done! How'd you like? How do you think George is gonna deal with this plot-twisting-not-really event? Kinda obvious. RRFF please! AND VOTE ON MY POLL! So, I'm gonna give recaps on this story.**

 **Recap:**

 **Percy now works for Hazel Levesque's family in Crete.**

 **Orion is the palace announcer! Big whoop.**

 **Percy works as a laundry boy.**

 **Annabeth arrives at Crete and secretly sneaks away from her guards.**

 **Percy literally runs into Annabeth as he heads down to the entrance where she supposedly arrives.**

 **Percy has no idea he ran into Annabeth.**

 **At the end though, he recalls running into her and reveals it to George.**

 **Not much has happened. Yet.**

 **Message to AprilSpirit: Hey, if you're reading this, UPDATE for me! I have homework…oh wait…you probably do too. Unless you're on break. Or being lazy like always.**

 **-Yours in demigoddishness, SoulHorse**


	3. Chapter 3

**Soo… procrastination is my deadliest vice. I apologize. Sort of. I should've finished this earlier. Sorry kind of.**

 **This chapter is written by me (AprilSpirit), and the next chapter will be written by Soul (SoulHorse).**

 **Also, know that we beta for each other when the other is writing the chapter. Proofread by the other author, Okay? Okay.**

 **SoulHorse:** Same here. Blame the procrastination. Finally! April finished the chapter! 'Bout time ;) Sweet! I'm a beta reader without applying? And I get a head start on this chapter? Icing on the cake :D

 **Disclaimer: Riordan. Troll Riordan. Rick Troll Riordan. That is not my name. Or Soul's for that matter. We are not millionaires who write cliffhangers and troll readers for a job. (I wish it was though…)**

 **Soul's Addition to the Disclaimer:** Nah. I'm not a dude. Thank the gods! I wanna be a millionaire though…yeah…you guys might hate us after this story…just saying…

* * *

3rd Person's POV

"You idiot!" cried George as he smacked Percy on the head. "I told you to stop making up stories and daydreaming on the job! If you're gonna tell stories, at least make them believable! Ugh, why did I get stuck with you as a helper? You're useless!"

"I swear on the River Styx, I wasn't lying! I saw the princess!"

"Shut up, you idiot! There are guards coming this way!"

"Oops…"

"Hey! you! Prissy boy! Stop right there!"

"Uh oh. Now you've done it. Head guard Clarisse La Rue is out to get you now. Behave, or we'll be banned from our chance of freedom with the Twelve Trials tomorrow!" snapped George I-can't-remember-his-last-name.

"Well, well, well…a prissy laundry boy says that he's seen the princess to the highest throne in the world?" Clarisse La Rue said, cracking her knuckles. "You'll talk, if you know what's good for you, boy."

Percy stood there with his mouth open, looking like he was going to drool any moment. Luckily, George stepped in.

"He's just a stupid laundry boy! He always says stupid things like that! He's a bit crazy, if you ask me! Pay no attention to him."

"We did not give you permission to talk, servant boy. We will leave for now, but if that boy goes around saying stupid things like that, there will be trouble." Clarisse stomped off.

"Whew! Thank the gods! How are you still alive with such a dumb brain? What is it filled with? Seaweed?" George groaned. "I covered for you once, but I'm not doing it again. Now stop making up stories and get to the servants' quarters. I heard that Queen Marie is issuing tasks to pass the time while the guards find the princess."

"O-okay," Percy stuttered. "Um. W-we should get going before we get a whipping from one of Queen Marie's ladies in waiting."

"Yeah! That's the point. Hurry up!" George yelled as he started to run.

As they ran to the servants' quarters, Percy couldn't help but picture Princess Annabeth's beautiful face in his mind. He was sure that he had met-no, ran _into_ the princess, and he wondered where she was now. Even with the quick interaction, her face was still fresh in his mind, and besides, her face wasn't the worst thing to think about, anyways…

When the two boys got to the servants' quarters, the chores were still being given out. Percy was just in time to hear his name being called out.

"Perseus Jackson, clear all the rooms of the bedsheets and put them in separate baskets, then make up the beds! Perfection is mandatory!" a nasally voice read.

 _Ugh. What an annoying voice. I wish she could hear how annoying she is,_ Percy thought to himself irritably.

"This is your new headmistress, Madame Dolores Umbridge! Hurry up with the chores! I expect nothing but the best, and there will be severe punishments for those who tell lies about their chores!" Umbridge screeched.

Much grumbling could be heard from the crowd of boys. Percy felt deflated with the sheer amount of chores to do.

 _Ugh. I better get to it unless I want to be banned from tomorrow's opening for the Trials,_ he thought inwardly.

Just the thought of the Trials and the chance of freedom perked him up.

"This might be my last day as a slave. I'm going to do this!" he cheered to himself.

A small nagging thought came from the back of his head. _You might also get a chance to see the princess,_ the voice in the back of his mind whispered.

"Wait, what? Where did that come from? My mind is seriously so jumbled right now." And with that, Percy brushed off the thought and went to start the chores.

Only halfway through changing the beds on the first floor of the palace, Percy was sweating bullets. He loosened the collar and unbuttoned the first two buttons on his ugly, tight, butler suit. As he moved to untuck the bedsheets, a hand shot out from under the bed and grabbed his ankle.

"AHHHHHHHH!" Percy fell to the floor face first. "Please don't hurt me," he whimpered.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you, laundry boy," a soft, feminine voice said. "I just needed your help. Do you recognize me?"

As she spoke, the figure came out from under the bed. A mane of curly blonde hair emerged, and she lifted her head to show stormy grey eyes.

"I am Princess Annabeth, heir apparent of Greece, Rome, and next ruler of the world. But don't be scared, I needed your help."

"M-m-my help? But y-you-you're the princess. Everyone's looking for you. Why do you need my help? Uh-Your Highness, I mean," added a rather nervous Percy.

"I needed to get away from them. That was the whole point. I'll explain. And call me Annabeth. Just Annabeth."

"O-okay," stuttered Percy. _Her eyes are breathtaking,_ he thought to himself, awestruck.

"So what happened was that I was basically forced to come here by my mother to see potential er-suitors. Knowing my mother, it's basically an arranged marriage, and I don't want to do that. So I escaped from the guards to get away from all the pressure and dumb expectations. Got it? And I need your help to navigate the castle, because you should know where everything is, and that will help me stay out of my mother's eye. So are you in or not?" she explained in one breath.

She smiled alluringly, as if that would draw him into her plan. It only sort of worked.

"Wait, wait, wait. What? Yeah, I mean, I get it. But what are you going to do after hiding? You can't stay away forever. Besides, you're going to get found out, and then you'll be in an arranged marriage for sure." _Her smile is stunning._

"Yeah, well, I was working on that part. Huh. You're smarter than you seem, uh- your name?"

"Perseus. Perseus Jackson. Percy if you're my friend."

"Percy it is. I think you," she stopped in the middle to huff in resignation. "Are right. There's nothing I can do anyways. It would have been pretty awesome if I pulled it off, though, huh?"

"Yeah. Totally. Sorry for bumping into you earlier by the way. I was actually, uh-hurrying to see you arrive. Heh. What a coincidence, huh?"

"Yeah. Well, I'll see you around, Percy. If you ever need my help, I'll be in the second biggest suite of the palace. And there's always the breakfast in the banquet hall tomorrow morning. You're signing up for the Trials, right?"

"Yeah." _Gods of Olympus, she's gorgeous._

"Cool! I'll see you at the opening ceremony, then! Good luck!"

"Thanks."

Princess Annabeth rose to go make her presence known. She reached over to Percy and gave him a goodbye hug. But being the klutz he was, Percy tripped. Over air.

As he struggled for balance, Percy fell completely and knocked over Princess Annabeth. As they toppled over, their lips brushed together, and Percy ended up with his nose on Princess Annabeth's hair and lips pressed on her cheek. _Mmm. Her hair smells like lemons,_ he sighed inwardly. Wait, what?

It was sooo awkward.

They quickly scrambled up, faces flushed; Percy apologizing profusely, and Princess Annabeth accepting his apology and quickly leaving the room. But not before Percy caught a glimpse of a smile, sparkling eyes, and rosy cheeks on her face.

"Gods of Olympus, she's beautiful," he whispered under his breath.

"I think I'm going to like these next few days. Maybe I'll even talk to her at breakfast or the opening ceremony," Percy then muttered out loud.

Even with his clueless personality, Percy had to face the facts. He really, really liked the princess. Percy dazedly finished his chores, and at the end of the day, he collapsed into his woodpile bed with a dopey grin on his face. Even the stick-in-the-mud George wondered why Percy looked so out of it.

As for Percy, he dreamt about tomorrow's events and his chance for freedom. But most importantly, he dreamt about a certain blonde, curly haired, fierce, gray eyed girl, by the name of Princess Annabeth Chase.

* * *

 **And… done! What do you think?**

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 **Just kidding. A little bit more.**

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 **Until unicorns raid the stores and eat all the Nutella,**

 **~AprilSpirit**

 **SoulHorse** : Well, that was really something April. Oh wait…SWEET I GET TO WRITE ABOUT THE TRIAL OPENING! *fist pump* YESSSS! Wait a sec…I might end up writing some filler chapter lol. How the heck am I going to…oh well. Whatever.

Great chapter by the way. You know how many times I got in trouble for trying to edit this? Twice. Maybe three times at this rate. Who cares.

Percy seems like…a klutz. A bit OOC maybe…oh well. It's a FANFICTION. We can do whatever the Hades we want.

So, RRFF everyone! Hope you enjoyed April's chapter! Next chapter: my turn! Good luck to me…better not procrastinate XD Until next time!

 **~ Yours in demigoddishness, SoulHorse**


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